Monday morning, we woke up early to catch our bus to Zadar. It started to seem pointless to go there for a day but it was a stop off before going to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. The bus ride gave us an interesting insight into Croatian bus riding philosophy. The seat numbers on our tickets had no corresponding seats on the bus. As more and more people piled on to the bus, a general mood of confusion and frustration took over. The company oversold the bus and packed the seats and the aisle was full of standing people for most of the ride, which took a few hours and put us in Zadar later than we expected. As we got off the bus, we fought through the crowd of people screaming "accommodation maybe." Why they added the maybe, we still don't understand because in other Croatian towns, they just slyly offer a room as if they were selling you crack. After checking in to our hostel, we debated on spending time at the beach or walking around the old town. In the end, we decided the old town would be better to visit.
Zadar's history is similar to that of many Croatian coastal towns. It had an extensive trade network and has been inhabited by Greeks, Phoenicians, and various other groups throughout its long history. We stayed northwest of the center so we had to catch a bus to get to it. There's a pedestrian only bridge that connects the northern part of Zadar with the old town. When you enter here, there are lots of shops and people selling roasted corn. The street leads to the Town Hall and main square.
A short walk from the main square is a large, rusty orange colored church. Just to the right of it is the famous five wells square. It has, logically, five wells evenly space apart and all used to draw water centuries ago.
Just around the corner from these five wells is the main entrance gate to the city. The middle arch is wide enough for carts and the two side ones for people. It was built in the mid 16th century by the Venetian, Michele Sanmicheli. His Venetian roots show with the lion that represents the kingdom of Venice.
The large round building is St. Donatus Church. It's from the 9th century and is one of the best preserved pieces of Dalmatia architecture. Inside is a large collection of metalworks from old Dalmatian artists. Across from it is the St. Anastasia Cathedral. The building's Romanesque style dates from the 12th century. It was named after the patron's ashes were received there, thus replacing St. Peter as the patron of the church. Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral in 2003.
In the square between the two churches, there are lots of old artifacts from the Greek and Roman times in Zadar. If you can see the kid in the first picture, we watched him throw rocks at the restaurant tables at the far end of the square. After a couple of them bounced just right and into the midst of several people, the kids were run off by unhappy drinkers. It's comforting to know the lack of parental control is a worldwide phenomenon.
One of Zadar's most unique attractions is the sea organ. It's a collection of pipes on the edge of the old town that plays notes as the water passes through it and triggers the pipes to play notes. The sounds are quite ominous and rise and fall with the waves of the water. Kids and adults alike looked at the organ openings and tried to peer down into the holes to see the pipes. We recorded some of the music with our smaller camera.
Next to the sea organ is a large monument to the sun. It's a large, circular spot full of solar panels. It wasn't clear what the panels power. We've since found out that shortly after the sun sets, the panels light up and play various light shows. Click
here to see the show.
We visited some local markets and bought some fruit to enjoy for our dinner. We spent the evening coloring Izzy's hair and getting ready to head to one of the highlights of our 5 week trip, the Plitvice Lakes National Park.
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